Planning Satisfying Vegetarian Meals For Non-Vegetarians

For most Americans, a meal is not fulfilling unless it is meat centered, and vegetarian options are discounted, and considered as “sides” to compliment the meat.

There is a current trend toward healthy eating, and because of that trend, people are realizing a need to cut down on the amount meat they regularly consume.

However, the “unfulfilled” feeling of a meatless meal can be a roadblock to enjoying a plentiful amount of vegetarian meals, and there are two issues that contribute to the strength of the roadblock.

One of the issues of filling vegetarian meals is the lack of compensation for the full feeling we get from the fat and protein in meat. Even strict vegetarians can get the recommended amount of fat and protein with careful planning, so the vegetarian diet is not the culprit - instead the culprit is the fact that most Americans consume too much fat and protein due of the amount of meat we eat.

The other issue is a phenomenon known as sensory-specific satiety (aka palate satiety) Sensory-specific satiety is the term that researchers have given to our tendency to get bored with an individual food item, or dish, as we consume more of that food item or dish.

Sensory-specific satiety is an issue with vegetarian meals, because people who are not familiar with the full range of vegetarians options tend to choose one meatless item to replace a whole meal when opting to cut down on meat; i.e.: vegetable lasagna, mac and cheese, vegetarian soups, vegetarian stews, etc.

The answer to killing both issues in one shot is to choose bulky, stomach-satisfying vegetarian options, and add plenty of variety to each meal.

Dozens of delicious food combinations quickly come to mind, but one option is to plan to have a filling, and savory, meatless pasta main dish, a side of flavorful sautéed veggies (sautéed in healthier oil like olive oil), a crisp salad, and a piping hot whole wheat honey roll.

Round out your vegetarian meal with a scrumptious fruit salad (or some other low fat, low sugar desert), and add a tall and refreshing glass of ice-cold water with lemon.

Even if you do not plan to cut meat completely out of your diet, your body will benefit from an occasional meat break. Once you have mastered the trick of planning filling vegetarian meals, you will be on your way to being healthier and feeling great in no time!

U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health

The United States Department of Agriculture

The Mayo Clinic